Author: Kathryn Capone
Unit: Ecology

Title: Energy Flow

Lesson Overview

This lesson builds on the basic ecological terms and ideas the students learned yesterday about ecology and the biosphere. Today we will expand upon these ideas by observing the main sources of energy in an ecosystem and how this energy is transferred from organism to organism. The students will learn about food chains, food webs, an organisms role in these, and how energy flows through a system.

Objectives

1. Students will be able to identify the main source of energy for a given food chain or web and explain how a food chain and a food web are related.
2. Students will be able to identify a single food chain within a food web.
3. Students will be able to construct a simple food web and summarize in their own words what occurs.

Materials

- Fill in the blank notes outline
- Screen projector for powerpoint of notes
- Food chain activity
- E.L.M.O. technology in the room that allows me to work on a problem together with the class and projects it on the screen as I'm working so they can see it done step by step and work together with me.

Links to Resources

-Food web worksheet , and

Safety Issues

- None

Instruction

• The lesson will begin with the opening. Then I will ask the students to take out their homework from the night before and check that everyone has done it. We will then as a class go over it reviewing anything that needs clarification. (=15 minutes).
• Next the students will take notes from the powerpoint presentation based off of their text books.(=15 minutes)
• Finally, the students will do the food web worksheet. (= 10 minutes)
• Lastly I will close the lesson (=5 minutes)
• Before dismissing the class I will distribute their homework and briefly explain how they should complete it. (= 5 minutes)

Opening

• "Yesterday we learned about the study of the environment, who can tell me the difference between a biotic and abiotic environmental factor and give an example of each?"
• "Who here has ever not eaten for a length of time and begun to feel week or tired?"
• "This is because energy is needed to support everyday life functions and we as humans get the energy necessary to sustain these functions by eating or consuming other animals and plants that contain energy. We are examples of what type of organism? (consumers) Who can tell me where a primary producer gets its energy from?" (solar energy and chemical energy)
• "Today we are going to learn about what happens to energy as it is passed from one organism to another"

Learning Activities

• Fill in the blank notes presented with powerpoint
• Students will work with a partner to complete the food web worksheet

Closing

• "If a primary producer receives 100% of the sun's energy, and that energy is used by the organism, how do other organisms gain energy? (By ingesting organisms that have already obtained energy from the sun). Do you think the organism eating the producer gains ALL of the energy the producer gained from the sun? What do you think happens? We will learn about what happens as the energy is passed tomorrow.
  
  

Assessment

- The students are to hand in the food web activity which will be used to formatively asses which students are having trouble and with what concepts.
- The homework will also be used to formatively asses students because it includes different concepts.
- Asking questions will aid in formatively assessing students.

Homework

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Additional Notes